The present invention relates to a pin table for a bowling pin spotter, more particularly, such a pin table stamped from sheet metal having rigidifying flanges around its periphery, as well as around the peripheries of openings in the pin table. The invention also relates to a respot actuator assembly for use with such tables or the like.
Automatic pin spotting/respotting devices are well known in the art and are typically located above the pin deck portion of a bowling alley. As is well known in the art, the pin spotter/respotter is associated with a bowling pin elevating system which removes the pins from a pit, located immediately behind the pin deck, into which the pins fall after having been knocked from the pin deck. The pin elevating mechanism elevates the pins from the pit and distributes them into the pin table in the bowling pin spotting/respotting device for subsequent spotting on the pin deck. The pin table is movable vertically relative to the pin deck so as to properly spot and re-spot the pins.
It is necessary for the pin table to be rigid so as to properly spot the bowling pins and to properly grip and pick up those pins which have not been knocked down so that they may be properly respotted. It is also important to have the pin table weigh as little as possible so as to minimize the overall weight of the spotting/respotting mechanism and to minimize the power necessary to raise and lower the pin table.
It is known to cast pin tables from aluminum. The known cast aluminum pin tables have integrally cast brackets for connection to the actuating mechanism and brackets for the pin gripping mechanisms. Needless to say, such intricate castings require complex and expensive dies (costing well over $250,000), thereby increasing the manufacturing costs.
Cost is an important factor in the highly competitive field of bowling pin spotting/respotting devices. Such devices are inherently complicated and complex, resulting in significant costs for the bowling alley proprietor. Therefore, a need exists for reducing the costs of the bowling pin spotting/respotting devices, while at the same time maintaining the rigidity and lightweight characteristics of the known pin tables.